“It’s all uncharted territory from here on out,” said David Cornwell, an attorney who represents players on a variety of issues, including drug cases. “Everything that emanates from the Players Association regulating agents is suspended. And everything that emanates from the NFL regarding the regulation of players is suspended.”
The owners of the 32 NFL franchises locked out players March 12, one day after labor talks collapsed and players decertified their union and filed an antitrust lawsuit against the owners.
Players are not being drug-tested during the lockout, the sport’s first work stoppage in 24 years. Cornwell said the disappearance of the program is “significant,” in large part because counseling for players has ended along with the testing.
“Everyone always focuses on the violations and discipline,” said Cornwell, a former assistant counsel for the league and a finalist for the union’s executive director job in 2009. “But a player who is involved in the drug program is generally found to have issues requiring various kinds of counseling. Rarely is drug use the problem. Usually it’s a symptom. I’m concerned about that.
“The question,” he added, “is whether those who are in the program will react to stress by turning back to drugs.”
Charley Casserly, the former general manager of the Washington Redskins and Houston Texans, said the lack of testing might not be quite as alarming as it sounds because the program will return well before games are played.
“The players are going to have to be responsible for themselves,” Casserly said. “As soon as this thing is over, there’s going to be drug testing. I don’t think that’s a big issue. Most players will be responsible. And if you’re a coach or a general manager, there’s nothing you can do about it.”
One suggestion quietly being contemplated by some agents is phasing the drug-testing program back into operation, with an initial grace period, once the lockout ends. But Adolpho Birch, the NFL’s senior vice president of law and labor policy, said there is “no basis” for anything other than putting testing for steroids and other drugs back into effect immediately.
“We have advised the players they should be prepared for the immediate reinstitution of those policies,” Birch said.
There also could be questions when the lockout ends about enforcement of the personal conduct policy, which gives NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell broad powers to discipline players and others for off-field misconduct.
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